Improvement in iron fences



B. C. LAUTH.

Iron-Fence.

Patented Oct. 7, I879.

w Q & fix Q Q j H 1 E H a 3 06. 0a 0a 0a 0a 0a Nv PEIERS. PHOTO-LTHOGRAP U TED STATES PATENT QFFIGE.

BERNARD O. LAUTH, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT lN IRON FENCES.

Specification forming part of. Letters Patent No- 220,392, dated October7, 1879 application filed February 11, 1879.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BERNARD (l. LAUTH, of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Fences, of which the followingis a specification.

The object of my invention is to produce a cheap and substantial ironfence by making the whole or part of the samethat is, the posts,horizontal rails, and vertical railingsof unwelded tubes ofwrought-iron, fitted together in the peculiar manner describedhereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings, Figures 1 and 2 are views of my improvedfence, showing the posts iii-section; Figs. 3 and 4,sectional plans ofFigs. 1 and 2 on the line 1 2; Fig. 5, a perspective view; and Figs. 6and 7, diagrams illustrating the kind of tubes of which the fence isconstructed.

By modern machinery long strips or skelps of wrought-iron, such as thestrip A, a transverse section of which is shown in Fig. 6, can beconverted at a very cheap rate into a tube, B, Fig. 7, the oppositeedges being simply in contact with each other.

It is only when the tubes have been subjected to the process of weldingthat their cost is increased, the unwelded tubes costing but little, ifany, more than the skelps themselves.

I avail myself. of these cheap unwelded tubes, of the great strength dueto their shape, and of their trifling cost, owing to the small amount ofmetal required for the attainment of that strength by converting theminto fences, which are but a trifle more costly than many wooden fences,and far more durable than the latter. 7

Fig. 1 shows part of a fence, the post D of which consists of anunwelded tube, necessarily of larger diameter and more substantial thanthe tubes for other parts of the fence. The longitudinal rails E E aremade of similar but lighter tubes, and the railings G G and H of stilllighter tubes of the same charactor.

The ends of the longitudinal rails of the fence are passed through holesin the posts, and may be secured by wedges, pins, or other suitablefastenings. In the same manner the tubular railings G and H are passedthrough holes in the longitudinal rails and properly secured to thesame.

One bent tube forms two railings, G G, and between these railings arestraight tubes H, the latter being surmounted by any cheap woodenornament, so as to present, with the arched tops of the railings G G, aneat appearance. An appropriate ornament may also be fitted and securedto the top of each post.

In Fig. 2 the railings are composed entirely of bent unwelded tubes, andother arrangements of tubular railings will readily suggest themselves.

It will be seen that a fence thus composed of unwelded tubes ofwrought-iron is a very substantial, rigid, and durable structure; thatit can be made at a comparatively small cost, and that the parts, owingto their comparative lightness, admit of easy transportation.

The vertical railings passing through and fitting snugly in thehorizontal rails tend to retain the latter in shape, and to preservetheir integrity. At the same time the railings, being themselvesembraced by the rails E, are retained in shape by the same. In otherwords, the rails and railings contribute jointly to render the structurerigid and permanent.

I claim as my invention-- The combination, in a fence, of longitudinalrails made of unwelded tubes of wrought-iron with railings composed ofsimilar tubes which pass through and are secured in openings in the saidrails, all as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

B. O. LAUTH.

Witnesses WM. J. OooPER, HARRY SMITH.

